Psychosocial Workload of Social Workers and Their Self-Esteem

Abstract

Working as a social worker requires both professional competencies and personal predispositions, particularly individual social sensitivity, openness to others, empathy, and a desire to help people in difficult life situations. The nature of this work entails numerous psychosocial burdens that social workers must face. These burdens often constitute both barriers and creative challenges. Self-confidence and personal resources are essential factors in effective social work. The aim of the empirical research in this article is to determine the relationship between the psychosocial workload of social workers and their self-esteem. This defined field of exploration implied the question: is there a relationship between the psychosocial workload of social workers and their self-esteem? The psychosocial work situation of the surveyed social workers (the explained variable) was assessed using the Version V Survey Questionnaire by Widerszal-Bazyl and Cieślak entitled “Psychosocial Working Conditions.” The level of self-esteem of social workers (the explanatory variable) was determined based on Rosenberg’s SES Self-Esteem Scale. It turned out that the higher the self esteem of the respondents, the higher the level of job control, especially in terms of cognitive control, perceived social support from colleagues and supervisors, and experienced well-being.